A Day in the Park
by piraoine
Summary: AU Twilight story, Carlisle and Esme romance. Please read inside for a full summary.


**A Day in the Park**

_**In my story Carlisle and Edward are vampire and Esme is a human. My story takes place in New York City. Carlisle meets Esme in the park one day and is intrigued by her, so he ends up following her home. (Creepy? Maybe, but it works for my story so yeah!) **_

_**Oh and Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight characters, not me. **_

Dr. Carlisle Cullen sat on a bench in Central Park just watching the people. It was an unseasonably warm day for early spring in New York City. The skies were safely overcast but because of the heat wave, the park was full of young mothers pushing babies in prams, or sitting on benches knitting or reading books, glancing up every once in awhile at their children who played close by.

"Shall we stop here for a bit?" a female voice asked nearby, and Carlisle looked up to see a short young woman steering a stroller close to the bench where he sat. She bent over to check her young charge, her caramel-brown hair partially obscuring her features. She was dressed simply, in blue jeans, a red sweater, and a long gray raincoat. "There you are, Emmett," she said in a satisfied tone. "All settled in." She sat down on the bench and suddenly seemed to notice it was occupied. "Oh, hello," she said, taking in the upstanding and handsome appearance of the man who sat beside her. Clearly he wasn't the sort she was used to seeing in the park.

Carlisle simply stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say.

"Your child?" he finally asked, indicating the sleepy, curly-haired toddler in the stroller. Something in his tone was reluctant, and the woman frowned slightly.

"No, I'm his nanny." The doctor nodded absently, and for some reason she seemed to feel the need to elaborate. "I look after him Mondays and Thursdays. His parents are new to the city, working hard to pay for their new apartment."

"You enjoy children." It wasn't a question.

"You can tell?" she asked, beaming. "When I get married, I'm going to have a whole house full!" He gave her a faint smile.

"I… I hope you do." His voice sounded wistful, and she put her head to one side, studying him.

"Do you have children?" she finally asked. He looked startled, as though he were unused to being asked personal questions.

"Yes," he finally answered. Under the scrutiny of her deep blue eyes, he elaborated. "A son."

She smiled. "How old?"

He briefly debated telling her the truth but realized that if he did, she would think he was crazy and their conversation would come to an immediate end.

"He...died...many years ago," he told her. "He was...quite young." It was a lie of omission; he didn't tell her that his "son" wasn't _really _his son, nor was he so much...dead...in the way she was thinking...

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, her expressive eyes filled with compassion. "That must have been very difficult."

Carlisle nodded. "It was."

"I can't imagine how you managed to cope," she continued, laying a gentle hand on his arm.

"Sometimes I wonder the same thing myself," he admitted candidly, thinking more about his lifestyle than the fact that both he _and _his son were in fact...dead.

They were silent for a moment.

"My sister has a little girl," the woman said after awhile. "And I don't know what I'd do if…" her voice trailed off, as if even speaking of such a dreadful possibility would make it come to pass.

"Best not to think of it," he told her, seeming to read her mind. She nodded.

"And what do you do?" she asked in an obvious bid to change the subject.

"I'm – " he almost said I'm a vampire, living in constant disguise as a human like you - but caught himself in time. " – a doctor," he said instead. Her eyes widened.

"You're much smarter than I am!" she told him. "I didn't even finish community college!"

"It doesn't matter," he told her with a shrug. "I think you will go on to do great things."

She laughed. "Really?" He caught her gaze and held it.

"Oh yes." His tone was so certain that she laughed again.

"Are you one of those psychics?" she teased. "Going around predicting the future for lovelorn young girls?"

"Not exactly," he replied dryly, sounding rather amused by the idea.

"Oh, that's too bad," she said regretfully. "I was rather hoping you'd tell me that I'm going to marry Prince Andrew and be the Duchess of York!" His eyebrows came together in thought.

"Do you think that would be a happy life?" he asked, sounding very interested in her answer.

"It would be like a fairy tale," she said with a giggle. "The nanny and the Prince!"

"Fairy tales," he said slowly. "Where girls kiss princes and they become frogs." She frowned.

"Haven't you got that backwards?"

"Perhaps I have," he agreed, his casual tone somehow suggesting something deeper. From the stroller came little snuffling noises.

"You're awake!" she told the child brightly. The child blinked up at her with sleep-fogged eyes. "Are you ready for some lunch? Shall we go home and see what's in the fridge?" She stood, turning her attention to the Doctor. "It was nice to meet you, Doctor...," she said, smiling down at him and turning the stroller around in preparation for their departure.

"Likewise," he managed, conveniently ignoring the fact that she was obviously lingering around for him to give her a last name. His title alone would have to do. As much as it pained him, Carlisle had to avoid giving out his name to strangers as much as possible.

Her face looked hurt, but she gave him a friendly wave before she slowly turned to depart, pushing the stroller into the sea of other parents and children who swarmed the park.

As he watched her leave, he had a sudden urge to chase after her. But instead, he sat as still as a statue, watching the other happy families conceal his vision of the sweet, nameless young woman who had captured his attention.


End file.
